Stanford's Dawkins: Dayton has 'toughness about them'

ST. LOUIS -- Stanford plays Dayton on Thursday in the only matchup of double-digit seeds in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 round. But Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins said his team won't be lured into a false sense of confidence.

Asked if the bracket is opening up after 11th-seeded Dayton took out No. 3 Syracuse 55-53, Dawkins cringed. "No, no, not at all. I've been in too many rodeos for that," he said. "They wouldn't be in this position if they weren't a heck of a basketball team."

The 10th-seeded Cardinal (23-12) and Flyers (25-10) collide at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, and the winner will be just one step away from the Final Four.

"I'm impressed with them," said Dawkins, who watched tape of the Atlantic-10 club on the team's flight home from St. Louis on Sunday night.

"They definitely have a toughness about them," he continued. "They're very scrappy. Those kids make up for length with their activity and their effort."

Only 0.4 percent of the 11 million entries in ESPN's tournament pool correctly predicted Stanford and Dayton would square off in the regional semifinals. But Flyers coach Archie Miller doesn't view either team as a Cinderella.

He said Chasson Randle will be one of the best guards the Flyers have faced and noted the challenges created by Stanford's size on defense.

Of his own team, winner in 12 of its past 14 games, Miller said, "We're one of the last 16. We belong."

Cal understands the Flyers are legit. Dayton soundly beat the Bears 82-64 at the Maui Invitational.

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"We watched everybody there in person," said Cal assistant coach Gregg Gottlieb, referring to a Maui field that also included Syracuse, Gonzaga, Baylor and Arkansas. "And we felt like Dayton was the best team in that tournament."

Stanford will have a size advantage, but Dayton's depth allows Miller to keep bringing scorers off the bench. Dayton's reserves totaled 52 points against Cal back on Nov. 27.

Dayton has experience to match Stanford and enough 3-point shooters, Gottlieb said, and that when the Cardinal goes to the zone defense that gave KU fits, the Flyers may be less troubled. After all, Dayton just beat one of the nation's elite zone teams in Syracuse.

"They're going to have a hard time with Dayton," Gottlieb said.

Miller, 35, said he won't rely on getting a scouting report on Stanford from his older brother, Arizona coach Sean Miller, for whom Archie served as associate head coach in 2009-10 and '10-11. Sean Miller is busy preparing the Wildcats for their own Sweet 16 game, against San Diego State.

At 62-37 in his third season, Archie Miller got a contract extension Monday through the 2018-19 season. That means he could be there through the college career of Dawkins' son, Aubrey, who is being recruited by Dayton.

Archie and Sean Miller grew up in Joe Namath's hometown of Beaver Falls, Pa., playing for their father, legendary high school coach John Miller, who won more than 600 games and four state championships.

"Everything does start and stop with my dad. He's probably the most competitive person I've ever been around," Archie said. "It's not surprising that Sean and I both were taught how to play the game and about competing."

Sean became a star point guard at Pitt before Archie landed at North Carolina State, where he was a 3-point and free throw marksman.

Archie later was an assistant to Thad Matta at Ohio State -- the team Dayton beat 60-59 to open this year's NCAA tournament. It was a huge moment for the Flyers, especially because the Buckeyes have declined to play them in a regular-season game since 1988.